Wednesday News: “North America endured hottest June on record”; “Haitian President Jovenel Moïse Assassinated At Home”; “Trump’s Cult of Animosity Shows No Sign of Letting Up”; “Hampton Roads is on its way to becoming a wind capital”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, July 7.

• Why North America’s killer heat scares me
• North America endured hottest June on record (Really, really bad. Get off of fossil fuels, NOW.)
• Asia Pacific sees sharp rise in Covid infections as Delta strain threatens new wave (“From South Korea to Australia, authorities are struggling to contain the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that has caused a surge in UK, Europe and US”)
• Pfizer Vaccine Less Effective Against Delta Infections but Prevents Severe Illness, Israeli Data Show (“Vaccine protects 64% of people against Delta and is 94% effective at preventing severe illness, according to Health Ministry data”)
• Haitian president killed in attack at home
• Haitian President Jovenel Moïse Assassinated At Home, Official Says
• The Energy Revolution Is Tweaking OPEC Out
• Japan giant signs deal for 30 Australian solar farms with battery and hydrogen storage
• Why tether, the world’s third-biggest cryptocurrency, has got economists worried
• Shut Down the Tax Havens
• Australia’s largest city Sydney locks down for third week
• Ever Given Container Ship That Blocked Suez Canal Is Set to Sail (“Egyptian authorities seized the ship after it was stuck in the waterway for several days in March”)
• From Wuhan to Paris to Milan, the search for ‘patient zero’
• Statement by President Joe Biden on the Six-Month Anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection on the Capitol
• Six Months Since the January 6th Attack on the Capitol
• FBI Washington Field Office Releases New Videos of Suspects in Violent Assaults on Federal Officers at U.S. Capitol, Seeks Public’s Help in Identifying Them
• Hospitals Often Charge Uninsured People the Highest Prices, New Data Show
• The Supreme Court won’t stand up for voting rights. But some state courts will. (“Voter suppression can be arrested at the state level – sometimes.”)
• Did the Supreme Court Just Kill the Voting Rights Act? (Very very wrong and dangerous by the illegitimate Supreme Court.)
• Trump didn’t have to deliver for his party’s base. Biden does. (“For Democratic voters, symbolism isn’t enough. They need substantive progress on their agenda, or they’ll become disillusioned.”)
• As Biden’s plans struggle in Congress, his back-door actions could get a jump on reshaping the economy
• Biden and Harris to focus on voting rights Thursday, expand DNC program
• Covid’s delta variant is highly contagious. Will vaccines work against it? (“Experts say that if people are waiting for a ‘magical moment’ to get vaccinated, this is it.”)
• Delta Variant Now Dominant COVID-19 Strain In The U.S., CDC Estimates (“The highly transmissible variant has worried public health officials who warn it could lead to a new surge in cases, particularly among the unvaccinated.”)
• Trump Country Rejects Vaccines Despite Growing Delta Threat
• Republicans are preventing America from reaching Biden’s vaccination goal
• America’s next Covid tragedy may follow partisan lines
• Biden announces Covid ‘surge response teams’ amid Delta variant concerns
• What Does Mitch McConnell Do Now? (“At age 79, the longtime Senate Republican leader is contemplating his legacy.” His legacy is that he has done tremendous damage to America and to our democracy.)
• A Perfectly Rounded, Gleaming Example of Mitch McConnell’s Cynicism
• Biden under pressure to respond to Russian hackers’ claims of responsibility for ransomware attack
• Attempted Hack of R.N.C. and Russian Ransomware Attack Test Biden
• Russia ‘Cozy Bear’ Breached GOP as Ransomware Attack Hit
• It’s up to voters to rebuke Republicans who embrace the ‘big lie’
• More than 700 Republicans running in 2022 have pushed Trump’s election lies (“Some Trump supporters have already been successful in taking down Republicans who have disputed baseless allegations of fraud or election-rigging. Just last month in a Virginia House of Delegates primary, Trump election lawyer Wren Williams defeated 14-year Republican incumbent Charles Poindexter, who rejected the frivolous fraud claims in the GOP primary.”)
• This Isn’t the First “Critical Race Theory” Backlash (“The war on this academic and legal framework was decades in the making.”)
• The Money Is Following the Crazy in the GOP
• Drive the all-new Toyota Paranoia, Official Car of the Jan. 6 Insurrection
• Prosecuting assaults on journalists protects our democracy (“While all who attacked the Capitol six months ago should be held accountable, prioritizing prosecution of individuals who assault the press or police is paramount”)
• ‘So, So Angry’: Reporters Who Survived the Capitol Riot Are Still Struggling (“The reporters who survived the insurrection are still covering Congress. But things don’t feel normal”)
• A horn-wearing ‘shaman.’ A cowboy evangelist. For some, the Capitol attack was a kind of Christian revolt.
• Trump’s Cult of Animosity Shows No Sign of Letting Up
• Amid critical race theory controversy, teachers union chief vows legal action to defend teaching of ‘honest history’
• After years of climate denial, there is no reason to trust Fox Weather (There’s no reason to trust Fox ANYTHING.)
• Elsa brings heavy winds as it nears landfall along Florida’s west coast
• Right-wing media’s story keeps changing in order to falsely accuse U.S. women’s soccer team of disrespecting a veteran (“No matter which way the women face, right-wing media will trash America’s team”)
• Sha’Carri Richardson will miss Tokyo Olympics after exclusion from U.S. 4×100 relay team
• Trump stunned aides by saying he wanted to use Covid as excuse to delay 2020 election, new book claims
• Trump told chief of staff Hitler ‘did a lot of good things’, book says
• Trump friend and golfing partner charged with misdemeanor indecent assault
• US urged to investigate deceptive Facebook ads tied to rightwing group
• Six months after the Capitol riot, Facebook is still letting Trump and his allies promote rallies filled with election misinformation
• GOP Sen. Ron Johnson mouths to GOP luncheon that climate change is ‘bullsh*t’ (Johnson is completely deranged.)
• Weeks after Holocaust Museum visit, Rep. Greene makes new Nazi-era comparison in opposing vaccination push (She’s completely f’ed up.)
• New York’s Mayoral Primary Has Put Ranked-Choice Voting Under The Microscope
• Eric Adams wins Democratic primary in NYC’s mayoral race (Oh well.)
• How Eric Adams Did It (“The likely next mayor didn’t look like it at the start of the campaign”)
• Adams Declared Winner in Primary for New York City Mayor (“Holds Off Garcia in Democratic Contest”)
• Highlights From N.Y.C. Mayoral Primary: Eric Adams Declares Victory
• “It’s Just Not Something I Want Anymore”: Nikole Hannah-Jones Rejects UNC’s Tenure Offer
• Nikole Hannah-Jones Issues Statement on Decision to Decline Tenure Offer at University
• Fox’s Kayleigh McEnany blatantly lies about the Founding Fathers and slavery
• On 6-Month Anniversary of the 1/6 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Says “Trump lit this flame,” but “it was Republicans in Congress who handed him the match” (“The mob was given orders, and the world watched on live TV as they carried them out.”)
• Ivanka Trump Is Next on the Chopping Block (“Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is likely looking into ‘consulting fees’ paid to Ivanka”)
• Rep. Mo Brooks says he can’t be sued for inciting Capitol riot because he is a federal employee (Uhhhh….nope.)
• DeSantis risks Trump backlash as his star rises
• J.D. Vance Apologizes on Fox for Opposing Trump Author who once compared Trump to a drug now wants to be a dealer. (Embarrassing.)
• Sad: J.D. Vance Desperately Tries to Disown Anti-Trump Tweets
• The Memo: ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ author binds himself to Trump after past criticism
• Virginia ‘Bible study’ group was cover for violent militia plans, prosecutors say
• CASA In Action Endorses Terry McAuliffe for Virginia Governor (“Cites Terry’s Proven Leadership, Commitment to Making Health Care More Affordable, Expanding Pre-K, and Defeating Trumpism”)
• VIDEO: New Terry for Virginia Digital Ad Highlights Glenn Youngkin’s Loyalty to Donald Trump
• “An insult to the people of the Commonwealth”: Glenn Youngkin Breaks Decades of Precedent, Refuses to Participate in “one of Virginia’s most time-honored traditions, the Virginia Bar Association debate”
• Audio: With 119 Days Until Election Day, Chaz Nuttycombe and Ben Tribbett Analyze the Most Competitive Virginia House of Delegates Races
• The debate over debates continues
• Video: VA Redistricting Commission Votes to Enter Negotiations with Highly Partisan Republican Law Firm(VAPLAN: Del. Marcus Simon “clarifies that though the Repub-leaning law firm has represented some pretty atrocious clients, it was the ONLY one that applied”)
• JLARC pushes VEC for solutions as problems persist
• Tuesday (7/6) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, New COVID Cases At Lowest Levels Since March 2020
• Northam announces $304.5M in American Rescue Plan Act funding to Virginia’s towns
• There’s a link between pediatric asthma and neighborhoods that flood — especially low-income ones, ODU researchers say
• Criminal justice changes in Virginia prompt debate over how prosecutors are funded by the state (Changes are definitely needed.)
• Virginia Redistricting Commissioner Resigns
• Va. Dept. of Wildlife Resources receives over 1,400 reports of sick, dying birds (Ugh.)
• Roanoke Councilman Robert Jeffrey indicted on felony charges
• Arlington County Helps Put Solar Financing on the Menu in Historic First for Virginia (“Through the program, the County brings together building owners seeking sustainability with private capital providers. Under C-PACE, owners of existing buildings can obtain financing for up to 100 percent of the cost of energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation projects for up to 25 years.”)
• Loudoun County Board Votes to Begin Process to Rename Confederate Roads, Areas
• Virginia to remove statue of segregationist Harry Byrd Sr. from Capitol grounds Wednesday
• 10 killed across the Richmond region since Friday through the long holiday weekend
• Hampton Roads is on its way to becoming a wind capital (“The 5,200-MW of offshore wind under the VCEA ensures that more job prospects are on the horizon — with each gigawatt of wind development projected to result in 5,200 direct and indirect jobs annually. Thanks to thoughtful input in the VCEA, offshore wind developers, including Dominion, are prioritizing the hiring of veterans and individuals from disadvantaged communities.”)
• Researchers eye coal ash as a possible source of critical minerals — and Southwest Virginia jobs
• New Data Shows More and More of Virginia’s Population is in Deportation Proceedings
• Alexandria City Council votes to remove funding for school resource officers
• Hurricane Elsa is predicted to reach Hampton Roads on Thursday. Here’s what to expect.
• D.C.-area forecast: Another sizzler today, somewhat cooler tomorrow; rain from Elsa late Thursday